After being in the field for 15 years it suddenly releases large amounts of cyanide gas? Not going to say that's impossible, but it seems unlikely. At a minimum I would be looking for some radical change in conditions to begin to provide a rational explanation how plants could suddenly radically change their behavior. And I'd want to know how concentrations of cyanide gas high enough to kill 800lb cows somehow did not affect at all the people running around trying to help them.

vossiewulf:After being in the field for 15 years it suddenly releases large amounts of cyanide gas? Not going to say that's impossible, but it seems unlikely. At a minimum I would be looking for some radical change in conditions to begin to provide a rational explanation how plants could suddenly radically change their behavior. And I'd want to know how concentrations of cyanide gas high enough to kill 800lb cows somehow did not affect at all the people running around trying to help them.

vossiewulf:After being in the field for 15 years it suddenly releases large amounts of cyanide gas? Not going to say that's impossible, but it seems unlikely. At a minimum I would be looking for some radical change in conditions to begin to provide a rational explanation how plants could suddenly radically change their behavior. And I'd want to know how concentrations of cyanide gas high enough to kill 800lb cows somehow did not affect at all the people running around trying to help them.

I'm not saying that something isn't off here, because it certainly sounds like it is. But cows eat the grass meaning they keep their faces and snouts basically in the grass. Humans don't tend to walk around with their noses in the grass.

WorldCitizen:vossiewulf: After being in the field for 15 years it suddenly releases large amounts of cyanide gas? Not going to say that's impossible, but it seems unlikely. At a minimum I would be looking for some radical change in conditions to begin to provide a rational explanation how plants could suddenly radically change their behavior. And I'd want to know how concentrations of cyanide gas high enough to kill 800lb cows somehow did not affect at all the people running around trying to help them.

I'm not saying that something isn't off here, because it certainly sounds like it is. But cows eat the grass meaning they keep their faces and snouts basically in the grass. Humans don't tend to walk around with their noses in the grass.

WorldCitizen:vossiewulf: After being in the field for 15 years it suddenly releases large amounts of cyanide gas? Not going to say that's impossible, but it seems unlikely. At a minimum I would be looking for some radical change in conditions to begin to provide a rational explanation how plants could suddenly radically change their behavior. And I'd want to know how concentrations of cyanide gas high enough to kill 800lb cows somehow did not affect at all the people running around trying to help them.

I'm not saying that something isn't off here, because it certainly sounds like it is. But cows eat the grass meaning they keep their faces and snouts basically in the grass. Humans don't tend to walk around with their noses in the grass.

I took it to mean the cyanide gas was concentrated in the stomachs of the cows -a process of their unique digestion.

I took it to mean the cyanide gas was concentrated in the stomachs of the cows -a process of their unique digestion.

Now that makes sense. Invoke google-fu:

"Prussic acid is formally known as hydrocyanic acid, and as the name implies, is a cyanide-containing compound. It is only produced by certain plants, but under conditions of plant stress, those plants can produce the problem. Cattle ingest the plant, and during the process of digestion the cyanide compound is released." Link

vossiewulf:I took it to mean the cyanide gas was concentrated in the stomachs of the cows -a process of their unique digestion.

Now that makes sense. Invoke google-fu:

"Prussic acid is formally known as hydrocyanic acid, and as the name implies, is a cyanide-containing compound. It is only produced by certain plants, but under conditions of plant stress, those plants can produce the problem. Cattle ingest the plant, and during the process of digestion the cyanide compound is released." Link

WorldCitizen:vossiewulf: I took it to mean the cyanide gas was concentrated in the stomachs of the cows -a process of their unique digestion.

Now that makes sense. Invoke google-fu:

"Prussic acid is formally known as hydrocyanic acid, and as the name implies, is a cyanide-containing compound. It is only produced by certain plants, but under conditions of plant stress, those plants can produce the problem. Cattle ingest the plant, and during the process of digestion the cyanide compound is released." Link

Ah, yes, that makes even more sense.

But it doesn't answer an important question: why now? Why these cows? Why this field? Who knows, maybe the drought had something to do with it...

Paris1127:WorldCitizen: vossiewulf: I took it to mean the cyanide gas was concentrated in the stomachs of the cows -a process of their unique digestion.

Now that makes sense. Invoke google-fu:

"Prussic acid is formally known as hydrocyanic acid, and as the name implies, is a cyanide-containing compound. It is only produced by certain plants, but under conditions of plant stress, those plants can produce the problem. Cattle ingest the plant, and during the process of digestion the cyanide compound is released." Link

Ah, yes, that makes even more sense.

But it doesn't answer an important question: why now? Why these cows? Why this field? Who knows, maybe the drought had something to do with it...

Here's the thing about random chance: It doesn't care what you think is likely.

The basic proposal is that if something is possible, it either has happened or it will eventually happen - given enough time.

Krymson Tyde:WorldCitizen: vossiewulf: After being in the field for 15 years it suddenly releases large amounts of cyanide gas? Not going to say that's impossible, but it seems unlikely. At a minimum I would be looking for some radical change in conditions to begin to provide a rational explanation how plants could suddenly radically change their behavior. And I'd want to know how concentrations of cyanide gas high enough to kill 800lb cows somehow did not affect at all the people running around trying to help them.

I'm not saying that something isn't off here, because it certainly sounds like it is. But cows eat the grass meaning they keep their faces and snouts basically in the grass. Humans don't tend to walk around with their noses in the grass.

If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us it's that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, expands to new territories, and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but, ah, well, there it is.

If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us it's that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, expands to new territories, and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but, ah, well, there it is.

Oh, and copypaste that monologue about adaptation in the plant world.

Oh, don't be silly. There's no way that clever-ass Man could ever screw up messing around with shiat he doesn't understand.

Coelacanth:(and after they get a load of this, that'll go down to zero)

A little googling found something interesting, the grass in question is part Bermuda grass and Bermuda grass is high in hydrocyanic acid. Given the recent drought in Texas it may have had a higher than normal amount of the acid, and when the grass got in the cows' stomachs say good night Gracie.

WhyteRaven74:Coelacanth: (and after they get a load of this, that'll go down to zero)

A little googling found something interesting, the grass in question is part Bermuda grass and Bermuda grass is high in hydrocyanic acid. Given the recent drought in Texas it may have had a higher than normal amount of the acid, and when the grass got in the cows' stomachs say good night Gracie.

I grew up in east Texas - my family raised beef cattle. We fed both fresh and dry alfalfa, bermuda, and love grass, at all seasons, and thoughout the drought of the fifties. I have never heard of anything like this happening.Google shows no incidents other than this one. Bullshiat. I am calling it.

vossiewulf:After being in the field for 15 years it suddenly releases large amounts of cyanide gas? Not going to say that's impossible, but it seems unlikely. At a minimum I would be looking for some radical change in conditions to begin to provide a rational explanation how plants could suddenly radically change their behavior. And I'd want to know how concentrations of cyanide gas high enough to kill 800lb cows somehow did not affect at all the people running around trying to help them.

This.

But it will now be forever spread as truth in anti-GM-Foods hysteria, no matter what the outcome of this, if it is even reported.

WhyteRaven74:Coelacanth: (and after they get a load of this, that'll go down to zero)

A little googling found something interesting, the grass in question is part Bermuda grass and Bermuda grass is high in hydrocyanic acid. Given the recent drought in Texas it may have had a higher than normal amount of the acid, and when the grass got in the cows' stomachs say good night Gracie.

One of my brothers and his family lives in Texas. I just left him a message not to let the kids play in the grass until a few more voices pipe in on this I hope he doesn't freak.

The big problem here is that GMOs hybridize like crazy according to my sources. In Mexico, Monsanto had some fields of some variety of Biocorn. The Mexican army had to go with flamethrowers to get rid of the stuff because the pollen was endangering Monarch butterflies and that heirloom corn crops were becoming Biocorn crops.

I'm still looking for a mention of the flamethrowers online. About five or six years ago, the story was all over the place, but now *shrugs*.

One concern of mine is that GMO corporations like to use the same patented genes over and over again. Today it's grass. Tomorrow will it be tomatoes or strawberries? And the whole country is in a drought condition. What's next? Farm workers keeling over in the fields?

jso2897:I grew up in east Texas - my family raised beef cattle. We fed both fresh and dry alfalfa, bermuda, and love grass, at all seasons, and thoughout the drought of the fifties. I have never heard of anything like this happening.Google shows no incidents other than this one. Bullshiat. I am calling it.

Krymson Tyde:WorldCitizen: vossiewulf: After being in the field for 15 years it suddenly releases large amounts of cyanide gas? Not going to say that's impossible, but it seems unlikely. At a minimum I would be looking for some radical change in conditions to begin to provide a rational explanation how plants could suddenly radically change their behavior. And I'd want to know how concentrations of cyanide gas high enough to kill 800lb cows somehow did not affect at all the people running around trying to help them.

I'm not saying that something isn't off here, because it certainly sounds like it is. But cows eat the grass meaning they keep their faces and snouts basically in the grass. Humans don't tend to walk around with their noses in the grass.

Many plants can produce cyanide-containing compounds. Link but the animals are poisoned when they eat the plant, not by release of cyanide gas. Even the original, poorly written article acknowledges that the cows were poisoned by eating the grass but somehow that turns into release of cyanide gas by the end of the article.

jso2897:I grew up in east Texas - my family raised beef cattle. We fed both fresh and dry alfalfa, bermuda, and love grass, at all seasons, and thoughout the drought of the fifties. I have never heard of anything like this happening.Google shows no incidents other than this one. Bullshiat. I am calling it.

"Normally, plants reduce nitrates to ammonium ionsand then assimilate them into amino acids and other proteins.This process, called nitrate reductase, occurs in theroots of some grasses such as bermudagrass, and in theleaves, stems and stalks of plants such as corn or sorghum.When plants are stressed (for example, by drought) thisprocess slows or stops, allowing nitrates to accumulate."

Seeing as how the TFA got the GMO claim wrong, I see plenty of reason to be skeptical here ... and the vet in TFA suggested multiple factors may be at work.

The Merck vet manual points out cattle are particularly susceptible to nitrite poisoning:"Many species are susceptible to nitrate and nitrite poisoning, but cattle are affected most frequently. ... Drought conditions, particularly if occurring when plants are immature, may leave the vegetation with high nitrate content. ... Affected animals may die suddenly without appearing ill, in terminal anoxic convulsions within 1 hr, or after a clinical course of 12-24 hr or longer."

'Course, if a particular breed of grass is more likely to kill cattle because of nitrates instead of cyanide, it's still a problem.

Still, this may give me an excuse not to mow the lawn, so there's that.

WhyteRaven74:Weaver95: i'm surprised Monsanto permitted that article to be printed...

Monsanto doesn't have anything to do with the grass in question.

aearra: And the rest of the world was derided for being suspicious of frankenfood.

The grass in question is no different from many other varieties of grass where two varieties are crossed by natural means. It's just a straight up hybrid of two existing grass varieties.

WhyteRaven74:Coelacanth: (and after they get a load of this, that'll go down to zero)

A little googling found something interesting, the grass in question is part Bermuda grass and Bermuda grass is high in hydrocyanic acid. Given the recent drought in Texas it may have had a higher than normal amount of the acid, and when the grass got in the cows' stomachs say good night Gracie.

WhyteRaven74:Coelacanth: The big problem here is that GMOs hybridize like crazy according to my sources.

The grass in question is sterile, and isn't a GMO it's just a regular hybrid.

Monsantapolgist!

/not really//the word popped into my head, and I figured I should use it before the beer took over

Coelacanth:WhyteRaven74: Coelacanth: (and after they get a load of this, that'll go down to zero)

A little googling found something interesting, the grass in question is part Bermuda grass and Bermuda grass is high in hydrocyanic acid. Given the recent drought in Texas it may have had a higher than normal amount of the acid, and when the grass got in the cows' stomachs say good night Gracie.

One of my brothers and his family lives in Texas. I just left him a message not to let the kids play in the grass until a few more voices pipe in on this I hope he doesn't freak.

The big problem here is that GMOs hybridize like crazy according to my sources. In Mexico, Monsanto had some fields of some variety of Biocorn. The Mexican army had to go with flamethrowers to get rid of the stuff because the pollen was endangering Monarch butterflies and that heirloom corn crops were becoming Biocorn crops.

I'm still looking for a mention of the flamethrowers online. About five or six years ago, the story was all over the place, but now *shrugs*.

One concern of mine is that GMO corporations like to use the same patented genes over and over again. Today it's grass. Tomorrow will it be tomatoes or strawberries? And the whole country is in a drought condition. What's next? Farm workers keeling over in the fields?

Did they ever solve the mystery of "lateral gene transference"? Jeez, it's been about ten years, but I remember that was one of the biggest concerns about GM crops. (IYDK, lateral gene transfer is the phenomenon by which plants in the same vicinity "pick up" genes from neighboring plants, including resistance genes.

born_yesterday:Did they ever solve the mystery of "lateral gene transference"? Jeez, it's been about ten years, but I remember that was one of the biggest concerns about GM crops. (IYDK, lateral gene transfer is the phenomenon by which plants in the same vicinity "pick up" genes from neighboring plants, including resistance genes.

That's an excellent and insightful question. Let me break it down a little further.

Lateral (horizontal) gene transfer is common among lower organisms (bacteria and such), rare among higher organisms (multicellular plants and animals).

Anti-GMO folks believe that GM is fundamentally unnatural and dangerous because it involves this lateral transfer, which otherwise wouldn't happen.

They then try to claim that GMOs will spread their evil artificial genes wantonly throughout the biosphere, because this lateral transfer naturally happens all the time.

See the problem here?

What does happen is conventional crossing between GMOs and related species. So, for example, GM corn can cross with unmodified corn nearby. Both the GM industry and anti-GM groups are focusing a lot of attention on this problem. But it is not horizontal gene transfer.

Coelacanth:WhyteRaven74: Coelacanth: (and after they get a load of this, that'll go down to zero)

One of my brothers and his family lives in Texas. I just left him a message not to let the kids play in the grass until a few more voices pipe in on this I hope he doesn't freak.

Sigh. Its assholes like you who propagated the "VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM!!11" bullshiat through their hysterical knee-jerk reactions.

Kids aren't going to start keeling over because of this. Not only is this type of grass not the same as the one found on playgrounds and other places frequented by kids, the reaction is clearly caused in the cattle's stomachs.